Pier or breakwater



pri

UNTTED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

C. T. HARVEY, OF MARQUETTE, MICHIGAN.

PIER 0R BREAKWATER.

Specification of Letters Patent No. 23,574, dated April 12, 1859.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CHARLES T. HARVEY, of Marquette, in the count-y ofMarquette and State of Michigan, have invented a new and improved styleof pier or breakwater with an attachment called a current-fender, thewhole or either being designed for use in rivers, harbors, lakes, orother bodies of water to deepen watercourses by concentrating andproperly conducting and controlling currents of water between or nearlines of these piers or to secure permanency of piers as foundations forsuperstructures or otherwise in submerged locations, such as quicksands,Sac., and by means of said pier and attachment to counteract and preventthe tendency of waves and currents on unreliable grounds, such as sand,&c., to undermine piers in such places, but, on the contrary, cause theagitation of the water by waves and currents to deposit the earth andsand held in solution or moved by them in such pla-ce and manner as togive solidity and permanency to pier and surroundings.

The nature of my invention consists in the design or plan of the pierand attachment. Thus in the pier-the mode by which-a single tier ofhorizontal timbers is carried from a floor resting on the bottom to thesurface and as far as desired above the water which tier of timbers areheld andl supported in place by braces reachin between them and theiioor timbers and forming a triangle as shown in the accompanyingdrawing 'by Figure l. This triangular (and novel) form it is claimed bypresenting peculiar strength at the points where resistance is mostdesirable is in such respects superior to any form now in use.

These braces before mentioned having a dovetail joint at one end and alock joint at the other present peculiar and incalculable strength forthe required use. See drawing Figs. 2 3 and 4 also model.

The different tiers of triangular timbers are prevented from becomingdetached by perpendicular binders of timber. See drawing Fig. 5.Letter.A (also model) held to the iioor timber by a 0troove at B in Fig.5- of drawing and by being bolted and fastened Vto each tier of bracesor face timbers as may be desirable the whole being thus firmly held andpresenting the strength in its greatest degree to resist pressure fromany quarter.

The rear of the floor series of timbers has a double set of transversetimbers so arranged as to present a slot or crevice; See drawing Fig.-G- letter large B, so contrived for a particular purpose-to witwhen thepier having been constructed elsewhere is brought to the spot where itis desirable to sink it to the bottom two or more piles are insertedinto the aforesaid slot, and being driven into the earth below serve asguides by which to sink and retain the pier in any desired locality.

The cross timbers projecting downwardas seen in drawing Fig. l atletter, C,-when the pier is resting on the bottom will from the pressureof weight or filling from above settle into the sand or earth bottom onthe lake &c., and render the pier immovable horizontally.

The brace timbers7 of the pier have regular spaces left between themintended to be used as ways, or grooves, for sliding timbers. Seedrawing Fig. -1- letter D for the following purpose to wit. v

Then enough stone has been placed in the upper angle of the pier toovercome suiiiciently the buoyancy of the timber the balance of theangle is filled with carefully selected and adjusted layers of evergreenbrush and tine fibrous wood as compactly as pos- .sible and then presseddown and held lirmly in place by timbers moving downward in the slideways. These may be forced down by leverage and fastened at any point bypin bolt, as desired.

rThe outside slot next to longest brace may be filled with a solidsuccession of timbers as sand accumulates and thus incase andeffectnally retain it. See Figs. l and 6 and 9, letter Z in Fig. l.

The pier having been thus constructed and by means of piles &c. beforementioned, guided and held in place always with the shallowest or rearportion toward the windward so that waves may roll over it-the particlesof sand carried by the waves will be carried in and settle and hence beretained in the meshes of the filling of fibrous wood above specifiedand thus gradually fill it up with a permanent loading of sand withouttrouble or expense.

In the side view shown in Fig. l, the timber C is calculated to lie onthe submerged bottom and the timber F (f) to be at water surface. From Fupward a narrow right angle pier of usual style is to be built to anyrequired height for convenience of vessels &c.

From timber C Fig. l downward timbers are to be placed on the front tieras low down as the channel is desired to be made and are to be held inplaceby braces on the beam, plan and principle as in the upper angle ofthe piers, excepting shorter in length and of a wedge shape to preventas little resistance as possible to the settling of the prier to itsbroad bearings. Two of the lower braces being projected beyond the faceof the piers as in Fig. l letter g. A heavy iron bolt is firmly securedin their ends with the projection upward for the following purpose towit.

After the piers by being placed have confined a current and given itvelocity which bears away the bottom, and threatens to attain a depthsufficient to cause the undermining of the piers, the current finderattachment is added in front of the pier as a safeguard against suchcontingency. See drawing` Figs. l and 2, letter iz..

rFwo guide rods (see F ig. l, letter z') having a socket-cavity in oneend of each to enable them to receive the top of the bolts or pins atletter j, are put in use (when the fenders are loaded so as to sinkreadily) byA having the ends of the fender chains slipped over them (theguide rods) by which the chains are looped over the ends of the pins orbolts below, and on the removal of the guide rods the fender attachmentis found to be sunken in the exact desired position and firmly securedby means of its chains to the bottom of the pier, being coupled to thebolts at letters 7c and j in Fig. l, and C of the drawings.

The current fenders are constructed by an upper and .lower lattice ornetwork of wood or iron, having stone between them enough to overcomethe buoyancy and the inside of the lattice or network filled with athick compact matting of fibrous wood (brush) Vheld securely in Vplaceby bolts clenched, riveted, or screwbolted, drawing the lattice andcontents firmly together. See drawing in Figs. l and 6, letter 7L;

The result of the use of current fenders when constructedv and placed asaforesaid is that the current of any river or the waves of the lake willfill all its interstices with sand or other weighty deposit andconsequently the water'cannot go below it to undermine and will have noinjurious effect in the narrow space between it and the piers. Shouldthe channel deepen very considerably Youtside a-nd undermine the feederit will adopt any necessary angle of inclination but by remaining (as itwill) with one edge against the pier will hold the sand in place underit and thus secure its position and permanency. Any length of pier andof fenders can be used by constructing in suitable sections of lengthand by using such modifications as'the depth of water given or requiredwill indicate. Y

`When afoundation for a Vlighthouse or other structure is required on ashifting sand bar or submerged shoal, or where bot-h are quicksands,four sections of this pier is required mitered together, so as to form ahollow square as shown in drawing, Fig. 9. The shallow or rear partalways to be outward from center of hollow square. On the outside thereis to be the current fender attachment, as shown particularly in drawingNo. 9, in that connection, however, more properly styled wave fenders asthey answer the purpose of preventing the displacement of sand about thepiers from the undertow of the waves and thus affording perfectprotection. The hollow square or space formed in the center of the pierswill aord the desired immovable foundation and in case of quicksandshould iirst be filled with several layers of fender matting inside. V

I do not claim of itself a crib or frame of timber, filled with stone orother material, and to be sunk on the bed of a river, lake or sea, assuch is well known to engineers, but

Witnesses z L. T. MERRILL, W. B. HATCH.

